According to Senate Minority Obstructionist Mitch McConnell, his job does not include extending a helping hand to the states with the intent of preventing layoffs of firefighters, police, and teachers.
Speaking with Candy Crowley on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) defended his opposition to President Obama’s now dead jobs bill, saying that the federal government should instead focus on decreasing regulations.
Senate Republicans, joined by three conservative members of the Democratic caucus, defeated that $35 billion package last week, which aimed to hire or retain teachers and emergency responders. And Democrats will surely trumpet their recalcitrance as we head into 2012.
Yet McConnell spun the issue in a different light, telling Crowley that saving emergency responders from unemployment shouldn’t be a federal responsibility because we can’t afford “to be bailing out states.”
“I certainly do approve of firefighters and police,” said McConnell. “The question is whether the federal government ought to be raising taxes on 300,000 small businesses in order to send money down to bail out states for whom firefighters and police work. They are local and state employees.”
Which begs the question to be asked -- if that's not your job, what is? To dismantle government rather than improve it? To ensure that layoffs occur rather than prevent them?
When did this become an acceptable style of governance?
At this point, I'm not sure if I can any longer suggest this kind of behavior began with the Reagan era, because more and more Ronald Reagan looks like a raging socialist and beacon of goodwill compared to today's Republican Party.
The Republicans in congress are presented opportunities on a daily basis to make a difference. To improve people's lives. And these opportunities are squandered while worshiping at the alter of greed and power.
By the way, McConnell obviously considers every millionaire in the country to be a small-business if he's making the claim that we shouldn't be raising taxes on 300,000 small businesses.